Galveston Bay Fishing Report

By Capt. Bryan Brawner
(March 18, 2013) Spring Break fishing in Galveston East Bay was good to fair most days last week except for Tuesday which was the day after the last cold front. Wednesday was our best day before the winds picked up. We boxed 22 specks and a couple of keeper flounder and released the rest throughout the morning. The rest of the week was a little tougher with higher winds, high barometric pressure, and above normal boat traffic. The best bite was very early and late in the afternoon. We did manage some good catches the rest of the week but no limits. We caught some good boxes of redfish on Friday and Saturday but the bite did not last very long and you had to stay on top of them while they were on. The main key to getting the fish when the conditions are tough this time of year is to stay where there is bait activity and shallow mud-shell bottoms next to deeper water which warms quicker. We caught most of our larger specks and reds on TTF soft plastics. We also used Popping corks with Gulps and live shrimp when available. I mostly keyed on marsh drain areas and wind blown shoreline/marsh areas that did not have as much boat traffic.

As the water temperatures climb into the high 60’s, fish will now begin transitioning into their spring patterns where they can be found on mid bay oyster reefs and shallow shoreline areas. This is the beginning of the time of year when it is possible to have big boxes of large trout and reds on a consistent basis. The next fronts should not cool down the waters much so I look for fishing to just improve every day through the end of the month. I will be concentrating more on oyster reefs in East Bay which are holding bait. Popping corks with Shiney Hineys and Gulps should produce great. Shrimp under a cork always works good but are not always available. I have some availabilities still for the end of March into April. Now is the time to take advantage of my special and get in on some great fishing for large specks and reds before the weather gets real hot.